As the expansive headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) remained shut for the second day running, the authorities at the Rivers State Internal revenue Service (RIRS) that shut the Commission said they were totally frustrated by the silence of the Commission over the years.
The executive chairman, Adoage Norteh, told BusinessDay in a telephone interview that it could not be true that the RIRS acted without any notification to the NDDC, saying, “The facts are there. We wrote letters to them but they did not respond.
The matter is a straight case.”He said the NDDC does not open its books to the tax masters. “So, there are no records to work with. We sealed off the place in 2018 and they paid what they wanted to pay. There are no facts and records to work with. They do self-assessment and pay what they want.
“We kept pleading; please give us your records, but no response. We sent request for assessment, no way.”
Saying the RIRS was utterly frustrated by the actions of the NDDC over the years, Norteh said, “That is why we went to court to ask for assistance and the court said, go and collect your money. So, we sealed the place again. Now, they want reconciliation, the same thing we had been asking for. They also say they are not owing while they say they will pay whatever is owed after reconciliation. This is strange because you say you assessed yourself and you do not owe, and you say you will pay what you after reconciliation.”
He said the period involved is between 2013 and 2018 and wondered what the NDDC has been hiding within those years. On how the RIRS arrived at N50Bn as tax bill, he said they used what is called ‘Best of Judgment (BoJ)’ approach. “Its their duty to open their books to prove our BoJ wrong. Anyway, they are reaching us and we are talking through lawyers. The ball is in their court”.
The shutdown action is already generating political reactions as one of the leaders of the NDDC Indigenous Contractors Forum, Nengi Georgewill, has accused Gov Nyesom Wike of being threatened by the performance of the newly appointed acting managing director, the professor, Nelson Brambaifa, and the Executive director of Finance, Chris Amadi, who he said have made huge achievements since they came in January 2019.
In a message circulating in Port Harcourt, Georgewill said the duo have launched a scheme to pay anybody owed below N20m, they have paid 3000 security surveillance members, (Niger Delta Volunteers Surveillance Scheme), supplied 13,800 desks to 23 local council areas of Rivers State, and began emergency intervention projects.
“The action is political. The state has pumped all its funds to win elections and court cases and is asking the NDDC to fund their state with N50 billion.”
The NDDC had cried out on Tuesday, saying the action was wrong because they were no notification. The statement also said the Commission was a responsible organisation that had paid up all tax liabilities (PAYEE and Withholding Tax) up to March 2019.
They said there were prepared to pay whatever is outstanding after reconciliation, though the RIRS is saying the same NDDC refused assessment over the years. Observers in tax administration say what is at play is the clash of ‘Self-Assessment’ by the NDDC and ‘Best of Judgment’ by the RIRS. They say in such situations, if negotiation do not resolve the issues, the court may step in as last resort.
